Wednesday, December 03, 2008

The day after Thanksgiving Meera turned 6 months old! It is hard to believe she's already 1/2 a year old. Every day Braydon and I wish that we could freeze time and keep her our tiny baby forever and ever and ever. She is such a sweet, happy, cuddly, fun baby to be with. She is so mellow. She is so easy going. She is so happy-go-lucky. She makes it easy to love on her and bring her along for the ride. Meera Grace has truly graced us with her presence in our lives, and we could not be more full of love for this baby girl. During her sixth month Meera spent a lot of time in the backpack (which she loves); she took her third air-travel trip and her first big vacation; she got two teeth (her bottom two); she continued to dabble in eating solid foods (rice cereal and green beans are her favorites, we still can't get her to eat applesauce); and she continued her love-affair with our cat Cooper. Meera is an easily adaptable baby who is happy to glide along with whatever may come her way (whereas K & O have always been Spirited, Meera's a textbook Angel Baby). She, for example, has no problem with getting her diaper changed on the seat of a car (even a rental car) -- which she's endured many times this past month happily and without complaint. She goes with the flow, whatever and wherever the flow may be. She does prefer, however, to sleep in her crib (and boy does she still love to sleep!). Generally the only time she cries is when she's tired and wants to be put in her crib. Meera still has not rolled over or sat up on her own... but she's working on it daily! Meera is a very social outgoing baby... smiling at strangers when they approach her and happy to be held by most anyone most any time. Most of all though, this month, we've seen huge development in Meera's relationships with her brothers. She's always loved them, but this month she has taken it to a new level. They are becoming more interactive all the time (there is reciprocity now between them --give and take), and an intense mutual adoration is growing stronger by the week. Meera lights up when she sees her brothers. And she often squeals with delight when they do the funny things they do. Oh, and she does love her Mama and her Papi too. ;)

Hi T! Yes, of course of course, absolutely we got blasted for the Bumbo on the counter. And for photos of K & O on bikes and scooters without helmets and for letting them swim/jump/dive in the deep end of the water without life preservers and and and and and. So it goes in the blogosphere. Of course they're always anonymous so I usually just click "reject" and then try to forget about it. You've gotta be gutsy to blog like this. I know *YOU* know. Anyhoo... I've been meaning to email you, and I'll try to soon, but I often think of how your oldest is about to be married... hard to believe that Meera will be (probably) planning a wedding someday too. I CANNOT imagine the emotions for you. Gotta run, but lots of love to the whole tribe,hbj

Ok Prof. J...I have a burning question that I've been sitting on since little Meera was born: do you drink alcohol while nursing/pumping? I'm due on Tuesday with our first little one and all I want to do is sleep on my stomach and have a glass of wine. Are you still nursing? Do you pump? How do you sneak in libations and not get Meera drunk? I HAVE to know, lol!!!

Hi Safiya-- one of my favorite students of all time! :)I'm still nursing. And oh yes, yes, yes I drink alcohol while nursing/pumping!!! :) While pregnant I barely drank any coffee or alcohol at all. I did quite a bit of research on it, and couldn't wait for her to be born so I could drink again! I limit myself to 1-2 alcoholic drinks per day. While on vacation I'd often have a bloody mary in the morning and a beer or mixed drink in the evening. At home I almost always have a glass of wine after the boys go to bed. I also drink 2 cups of coffee every day now (one in the am and one in the afternoon). The only thing I do try to do is to not have a drink (coffee or alcohol) right before nursing or pumping. I try to plan it so that I'm waiting at least an hour in between. But I've talked to lots and lots of people (on all spots on the spectrum) and read up quite a bit on it... and I really do believe it is o.k. to have alcohol and caffeine in moderation while nursing. Just my own opinion, but you asked-- so there you have it! (and FYI: I haven't noticed anything whatsoever in Meera even on the occassions that I have drank right before nursing her). You've gotta send me a photo of your baby as soon as he/she is born!!!!!!! HBJ

Welcome back everyone. Glad to hear that you all are safe and sound. We have missed you all dearly, but knew that you all needed this time. Happy Belated Thanksgiving and we love the pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Meera reminds me so much of my son-who is fourteen- when he was a baby- They could be twins! Healso was a very laid back baby-unlike my first son who was very intense and did everything early!I remember that my 14 yr old didnot sit until 9 mths and firststeps around 14 mths- Enjoy her "babyness" becausethey grow up so fast!LucieOttawa,CanadaI really enjoy your blog!

About Our Blog

The Johnson-McCormick Family Blog is a blog spot for sharing the scoop on our little family's big life! We are Heather, Braydon, Kyle, Owen, and Meera Johnson-McCormick. Kyle and Owen are twins- born May 8, 2004 in Cite Soleil, Port au Prince, Haiti- adopted January 31, 2005. We became a "Party of 5" when Meera Grace was born to us on May 28, 2008. We have a crazy, fun-filled life with 3 bambinos and 2 big careers all under 1 roof - The point of this blog is three-fold: 1) to keep friends and family posted on K, O, and M's goings on's and our life, 2) to create an historical document/journal/scrapbook of this wild ride, 3) to be out there in the blogosphere -- loud and proud -- doing what we can to support other adoptive/inter-racial families and dual-career families in their journeys. Thanks for reading and following along! As Kyle and Owen say, "It's a bumpy bumpy ride!"(in a good way!).